Package, wrapper therefor, and method of opening the same



June 1 1926. 1,587,280

J L. BURKE PACKAGE, WRAPPER THEREFOR, METHOD OF OPENING THE SAME FiledAugust 4, 1921 Patented June 1, 1926.

' UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

JAMES L. BURKE, OF WEEHAWKEN, NEW JERSEY. I

. PACKAGE, WRAPPER 'rnnnnron, AND mnrnon or OPENING ran sun.

Application filed August 4, 1921 Serial No. 489,615.

My present invention relates primarily to wrapped packages and moreparticularly to methods and means for opening the same.

As conducive to a clear appreciation of the main purpose of theinvention, it may be noted that in the dispensin of ingredients of food,such as yeast ca es, bouillon cubes and the like, the process ofremoving the wrapper, particularly where the food is adhesive incharacter is ordinarily a laborious and unsanitary one. Even when theutmost care is exercised and considerable time consumed, it ispractically impossible to remove the closely-adhering tin-foil coveringfrom the usual rectangular starchyeast cakes without scraping the cakewith the index finger nail. These objections are particularly pronouncedat busy soda fountains where these products are served in greatquantities. It is not reassuring to Watch a soda-dispenser remove thewrapper from a cake of yeast. He digs freely into the cake tosave time,with fin ers that are greasy with cream, sticky wit sirup and dirty fromthe mop rags that he handles continually. Even this unsanitary openingprocess is not sufiiciently speedy to meet the demands of rush hours, sothat it has been customary in some confectionery stores to previouslyunwrap the east in quantities and leave it lie about wit out theprotection of the foil. Sincethe yeast deteriorates and spoils when thusexposed and tends to collect germs, this practice is particularlyobjectionable.

It is an object of my invention to provide a method for removing thewrapper from yeastcakes, bouillon cubes and other articles, which can beexecuted with utmost expedition and Withoutcontact of the hands orfingers with the contained article. Another object is to provide apackage construction which lends itself readily to the execution of theabove method.

Another objectis to rovide apackage of the above character w ichinvolves only a small modification of the common vpackage in. use.

A feature of the invention is the opening of a package of the'generaltype having a wrapper including flaps overlapping parts that areintegral extensions of other flaps, by the simple process of spreadingsuch other flaps apart, thereby automatically unfolding portions,preferably tabs on such flaps, so

that by the simple process of gripping said tabs and drawing them apart,the wrapper as a whole will flatten out in an instant away from theenclosed article without contact by the fingers. a

In the preferred application of the method to small food packs such asyeast cakes, bouillon cubes and the like, the two tabs are gripped, theone at the right between the thumb and a finger of the right hand andthe one at the leftbetween the thumb and a finger of the left hand, andthe package is raised upturned and held over .a glass or othercontainer. A finger of each hand is now moved into contact with thebottom of the package and the gripped tabs; are drawn apart about thecontacted area at the-bottom as a fulcrum, thereby causing the entirewrapper to unfold from the contained article which will drop away fromthe wrapper into the glass or other container.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one or more of variouspossible constructional embodiments for carrying out my method,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of pack, I v

Fig; 2 is a perspective top view illustrating the method of opening thesame,

ig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a modified form of the. invention,3

Fig. 4 is a viewof the modification shown in Fig. 3 reversed, i 1

Fig. 5 is a side view of another modification, e

Fig.6 is a side view of the modification of Fig. 5,.illustrating themethod of opening the same, and; 7

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are plans of different embodiments of openiii -tabconstructions, Fig. g showing the em odiment employed in fieferring nowto Fig. 1, I have shown a food pack which may be the ordinary starch andyeast cake, enclosed in the usual rectangular tin-foil wrapper having abottom covering part 1, side covering parts 2,

top flaps 3 over-lapping the upper surface of the cake, the extendingportions of the bottom",- sideand top covering elements be- 4.,pastedover the top flaps 3. According to a preferred embodiment, of myinvention,

shown in Fig. 1, the label is formed with a dividing line 7' preferablyregistering with the edgefof the top' flap 3 to serve as a line ofseparation for the label. Preferably also,

the label is provided with integral extensions 8 and 9 to constitutelinger grips.

QThe packageis opened by the simple processof gripping the tab 8 at theright between the thumb and index finger of the right hand, gripping tab9 at the left between the thumb and index finger of the left hand,raising the package and holding it over a glass or other container.Thereupon the botg tom 1 of the package is engaged by the midvdlefingersof the two hands, the package is upturnedand the tabs 8 and 9 are drawnapart about the point of engagement of the middle fingers as a fulcrum.As a consequence, the label will separate along dividing line 7, theside-covering parts of the Wrapper will be moved substantially intoalignment with the bottom and end folds 4 will thereby spread open, sothat the cake 10 will be freed from the wrapper and will drop into theglass or other container. This operation, which is somewhat analogous tothe opening of an egg, is not only substan-" tially instantaneous,taking but a fraction of a second, but avoids the possibility of contactof the enclosed article with .the fingers.

Although theniethod can be executed by holding the package with itsbottom in upright position. as indicated in Fig. 2, the

package may be completely inverted, if desired, although the latterproceeding involves twisting of the wrists through a needless'ly greatangle. Obviously, the tabs could be gripped between the thumb and middlefinger and the index finger used to contact the bottom of the pack.

- In Figs. Sand 4: I have shown a modified form of the inventionin whichthe label (3 is not changed in any particular from common practice, butis pasted on the continuous or bottom faceiinstead of on the topor.twoflap 'face of the package. Upon the top of the package,(see Fig.3) I secure by appropriate adhesive a rectangular sheet 12 projecting-atits ends 13 and 14 beyond the package and having a dividing line 15 withconnecting bridges-16 at the dividing line of the, 'flaps. The operationof opening the package, willbeobvious, is identical with that shown inFig. 3, the extensions 13 and 14 serving as the finger-grip or tabportions and the tension upon such extensions In the process of openingthe pack serving to sever the bridges 16.

Obviously, the gripping tabs can be formed in numerous possible manners,a few of which are suggested in Figs. 7, S and 9. In Fig. 7 smallseparate tabs 17 are secured by adhesive 18 near the edges of thewrapped package. These tabs may be secured near the edges of theordinary label sheet in- .or projecting fold to serve as a finger-grip.

In Figs. v5 and 6 is shown an alternative manner of carrying out theinvention. In Fig. 5 the label or other covering sheet 6 that over-lapsthe top flaps 3 of the ordinary pack is'secured by adhesive 21 to thelower of said flaps, and overlaps the upper of said flaps, the latter,however, being preferably not secured by adhesive either to itscompanion flap or to the covering sheet or label. The process of openingthis wrapper consists in gripping the end 22 of the sheet 6, whichpreferably extends slightly beyond the edge of the package, and drawingthe same away from the pack until the edge 23 of upper flap 3 isexposed, there.- upon grasping said edge and drawing the I two graspedportions away from each other as suggested'in Fig. 6, while the packitself rests upon the table or other supporting means. As a result ofdrawing these members apart, the free ends will be brought into contactwith the table element or support, the end folds thus .obviouslyspreading apart or opening and the contents will be released or freedwithout touching by the fingers or hand. The hand can then, of course,be placed under the wrapper and the wrapper inverted over a glass toallow the contents to drop thereinto.

Although I prefer the specific embodi ment shown in the drawings inwhich the packages are provided .with the ordinary obliquely foldedends, it will be apparent that the invention is applicable to packagesfolded in substantially any of the conventional manners. The inventionis broadly applicable to any packagein which, in the closed wrapper,extensions or projections of one pair of flaps are overlapped by otherflaps, so that upon'drawing apart of such not be destroyed, unless, ofcourse, the overlapped flaps are secured together by adhesive of greatertensile strength than that of the wrapper sheet itself.

Although the method has been described and has 1ts preferred applicationto food. packages and more particularly to food of adhesive characterthat should not be handled in removing the wrapper, the invention apartfrom this sanitary feature has the advantage of permitting a speedy,

almost instantaneous opening of a package and is, therefore, useful inany relation in which such speed isrequired or desired.

It will thus be seen that there is herein described a method and adevice in which the several features of this invention are embodied, andwhich method and device attain the various objects ofthe invention andare well suited to meet the requirements of practical use. a I

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of .this invention could be madewithout'departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense;

I claim v 1, A wrapped package having a first pair of flaps andother-flaps overlapping parts integral with said first pair of flaps,said first pair having grip-portions for convenience in opening thepackage.

2. A package having a wrapper provided with end flaps and portionsintermediate the ends having extensions in superposed relation withrespect to said end flaps, and a pair of grip-elements on said intermediatefiaps for the purpose of opening the wrapper by a singlemanipulation.

3. A wrapper provided with side covering portions, top fla'ps,- integralextensions on said side covering portions and said top flaps, and endflaps, said integral portions and said end flaps being In superposedrelation, and grip-elements rigid 'with the flag and said sheet.

wrapper and at portions of the wrapper continuous with the innermost ofthe end covering parts.

- 4. A box-shaped wrapped package havof the contained article and flapscovering the top, extensions integral with the sides, the bottom and thetop flaps and in overlapping relation to form the end'coverings, andgripping tabs connected to the top flaps for convenience in opening thepackage.

-5. A package of the type involving an article, 'a generally rectangularwrapper enclosing the same, said wrapper having portions covering thearticle intermediate its ends, including a, bottom covering elementandtop covering flaps, and overlapping ex.- tensions to provide endcoverings; the combination therewith of tabs at the top flaps of thepackage for convenience in opening.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 in which the tabs are piecespasted or secured to said top flaps.

7. A package of adhesive =food of the type including an enclosing.wrapper covering the bottom and having flaps overlapping the top andextensions folded against the ends and adhering thereto, and a sheetpasted over the top flaps, said sheet having a line of separation nearthe junction of the top flaps and having integral grip portions at itssides. Y

8. A wrapped'flat package of the type comprising a bottom coveringelement, top covering flaps and end coveringmeans overlapping extensionson said flaps; having in combination therewith an'open1ng gripcomprising a sheet secured to the top of said mg a wrapper with partscovering the sides package, said sheet having a dividing line adjacentthe junction of said flaps and pro-- the. upper of said top flaps, saidupper flap being unsecured with. respect to said lower gned at New York,in the count New York and State of New York, this 2d day of August, A.1921.,

JAMES L. BURKE.

